Out of nowhere, employees were sent an email informing them that the owner had unexpectedly turned off the burners for good in the restaurant that would typically be bustling with young professionals and couples.

It was originally going to be the home of a 53-story condominium tower, promised as the tallest residential highrise west of the Mississippi River. Construction had started in 2006, but now it’s quiet. The towers never got off the ground, and some of the completed foundation now sits exposed in the weeds of the dirt lot.